The sky was dark, gray and black clouds blotting out the moon. The wind whipped at his cloak, the bells on his hat rattling fiercely. Starswirl, Element of Sorcery, stood over the burning corpse of a once great city.
Combat still raged throughout the streets, but the fate of the battle was set in stone. The forces of good, of Harmony, had won this day. Yet the sky was still dark, and the fires still raged. Victory was a hollow thing to those who wouldn’t see it.
As Starwswirl swept his gaze over the battlefield, his eyes landed at a most horrific sight indeed. A pony, who was just a foal, was surrounded by a dozen others. They wore robes and hoods, all colored black and dark purple. One of them, the leader most likely, raised a dagger high into the air.
Starwirl acted quickly, and efficiently. Gray light crackled around his horn, causing a bolt of lightning to come hurtling from the heavens. It struck the knife, vaporizing it and the pony holding it. The cultists closest to their leader shared his fate, being atomized by a billion volts of energy. The rest of them cried out, looking for the pony that had killed their comrades.
Starwirl strode towards them, magic swirling around him. It formed into a ball above him, crackling with power. The back of the ball was pulled until it resembled a spike, or an arrow. With a flash from his horn, he unleashed the spell.
The bolt of gray light shot forward, faster than any archer could shoot a bow. It slammed into one of the cultists, piercing the pony’s head and continuing until it hit the next one. Four cultists had been sent to the grave with one spell, and Starswirl wouldn’t, couldn’t, stop now. The only way evil could be stopped was through total annihilation.
It was a lesson he hadn’t taught the sisters yet, for good reason. It was a horrible, but necessary truth. They two alicorns were still young, barely older than the foal he was trying to save. There was a reason he hadn’t brought them to this battle.
The Cultists finally noticed the approaching unicorn, crying out and readying for battle. With a flick of his horn, the Element of Sorcery grabbed their robes in a telekinetic grip. With a surge of magic, he threw all in different directions. There were still six cultists, but they were isolated.
One of them recovered faster than the others, and with a yell, she rushed towards Starswirl. Her charge was met with a wall of gray fire. She died screaming. Another, a Unicorn, began to prepare a spell. Starswirl acted quicker, creating a blade of his gray magic above the unicorn’s head. The Unicorn never got to finish his spell-his head was cleanly separated from his body.
As Starswirl killed another cultist with his magic, one of the two remaining cultists tried to flee. He was a Pegasus, trying to fly away as quickly as possible. Starswirl surrounded his horn with magic and cast another spell. Ice formed on the Pegasus’s wings, causing the Cultist to be too heavy to fly. He screamed as he fell to his death.
There was one cultist left, but instead of trying to fight or run, he chose a third option. He pulled a dagger and grabbed the foal. The cultist held the knife against the foal’s throat, an obvious attempt at securing a hostage. Starswirl paused. Any magic collecting around his horn would signal that he was about to cast a spell and cause the foal to die. He would have to act fast-or he would have.
The problem was solved by the dark gray blade sticking out of the cultists throat. The pony behind the cultist pulled the blade out with crimson magic, swirling the sword in the air to rid it of the blood. The foal had been saved, and the last cultist drowned in his own blood. Starswirl looked towards the Stallion that had saved the kid and prepared his thanks.
“Thank you, King Sombra. That cultist had created a challenging issue.” The King of the Crystal Kingdom looked towards him in appreciation. The gray unicorn was wearing dark gray armor, most likely the same material as his sword. A red cape covered most of his armor, the crimson matching his eyes and magic. The magic swirled around his straight and sharp horn, bathing the King in a red light.
“And I thank you for asking for my aid. These atrocities have to be stopped.” The Crystal King said. It was true, Starswirl had indeed sent for aid from the Crystal Kingdom. While it was true that there were rumors about the Crystal Kingdom and its King; that the King practiced dark magic; He was one of the only ones Starswirl trusted to do the right thing. After all, these atrocities, this evil, had to be stopped. At any cost.
Starswirl looked towards the foal, and saw that while he had passed out, he was still breathing. The Sorcerer cast a ball of magic into the air, which began to shine with a green and red light. A beacon, marking wounded. Sure enough, within minutes ponies came, to recover the foal and ensure he had suffered no injuries. This area was thoroughly clear of Cultists, but the main temple was not.
The Sorcerer and King moved as a pair, striking towards the last place the enemy still held. They crossed the streets as a team, slaughtering any cultist they came across. Sombra’s Sword combined with Starswirl's Sorcery made them nigh unbeatable. Together, they carved a path straight towards the enemy stronghold.
It was a massive pyramid, horrific monsters posing as gargoyles adorning its steps. At the very top of the structure was an obelisk, extending high into the dark sky. It seemed to pulse, causing the very fabric of reality to ripple. It was…it seemed to eat away at his mind. Starswirl averted his gaze, banishing the feeling. He looked at the gray King next to him and saw that he too was staring at the obelisk. With a gentle nudge of his magic, he moved Sombra’s head.
The King snapped his head towards the sorcerer, but instead erupting in an angry tirade, he simply gave a slight nod. It would appear that the King had some experience with dark, or darker, magic. Regardless, they needed to press forward.
The main gates were closed, but they held no chance against the unicorns. The Doors were blasted open, throwing shrapnel into the cultists behind it. The screams that erupted from the attack only highlighted their foolishness.
A wave of magic poured from Starswirl’s horn, transforming into gray fire. It washed into the hallway, burning the cultists alive. Sombra followed directly after the spell, his sword spinning in the air. Anypony that had not been killed by the fire was swiftly dispatched by the Crystal King.
They pushed farther into the temple, and they could see the material of the walls shift. It had originally matched the architecture of the city, made of the red brick the area was so renowned for. Now it was gray stone, not bricks but smooth stone. It was as if it was formed naturally, and not pony-made.
The material wasn’t the only change. The halls seemed to curve and stretch strangely, and more than once Starswirl swore they had four right turns in a row. Yet the halls continued to twist and turn, and yet Starswirl couldn’t sense any magic that would cause an effect. They encountered a few cultists along the way, but there were very few. It set him on edge, as an ambush in these unfamiliar and twisted tunnels could be very bad for the duo. Then they came across the large, open room.
Starswirl had lied, calling it large was a disservice to the truth. The room was larger than the entire building of the temple, which confirmed his earlier thoughts about the tunnels. Infact, Starswirl could see the night sky. With a chill, he realized that it wasn’t their stars. The constellations were very, very wrong.
In the center of the room, nay, the open space was an altar. Surrounding the altar were a series of pits, in which chains seemed to extend from them and connect to the stone altar. With horror, Starswirl watched as a few cultists took an unrobed pony, and threw her into a cage. They attached the cage to one the chains, which then plummeted into the depths. Starswirl could hear her screams increase in pitch and pain, until they suddenly cut out.
The Element of Sorcery saw a wave of light slip up the chain, and into the altar. It flashed, and for a moment he swore he could see a shape in the night sky. Then it was gone, and he had to blink to clear his mind. As much as it could just be his tired mind playing tricks on him, it could have been very real as well. Regardless, he needed to finish this.
Striding forward once more, he gathered his magic for a litany of spells. He threw them like there was no tomorrow, gray magic lighting up the dark night. There was nothing in the sky. As the sorcerer cast his spells, Sombra galloped forward, slamming into one the hooded cultist. His blade flew as if it had a mind of its own, cutting apart any cultist not annihilated by Starswirl’s magic.
The two of them together were all but unstoppable, their charge not being halted in the slightest. The leader of the cultist turned to look at them, yet all he did was give a smile. It was genuine, not cruel or harsh in the slightest. It sent a chill down his spine, again.
Then, in an act neither of them predicted, he threw himself into one of the holes. There was a flash of light, and Starswirl felt his mind pull and push itself. He clutched his head between his hoofs, as the entire room seemed to snap back into reality.
It was much smaller, now only the size of a town square or so. The Night sky was gone, now replaced by a ceiling that only went up for a few stories. The Many holes that circled the altar had disappeared as well, leaving chains half-fused to the stone ground. The only thing that remained the same was that infernal altar.
Starswirl stumbled closer to the altar, for a headache was relentlessly assaulting him. He managed to make it to the raised stone, whose proximity to it only worsening the pain in his head. It became apparent why.
A mass of roiling light lingered in a depression set in the stone. One shaped like a dagger. Before his eyes, the light seemed to flicker, being replaced by a metal dagger. Then it was light again. The flickering sped up, causing his head to hurt worse and worse.
It was unbearable. He sagged on the stone, the light flashing. Back and forth. Dagger and light. Pain…
Then abruptly-the light vanished. His headache vanished with it. As he blinked his eyes, clearing his head, he could see that there was nothing in the altar. Just cold, empty stone. He looked back and saw King Sombra standing with officers of both the Royal Legion and the Crystal Guard.
Starswirl, shakingly got to his hooves and trudged to the group of ponies. He looked at Sombra, who returned his gaze, then gave a single order.
“Burn it all.”
The Temple was sentenced to ash, along with the rest of the city. The knowledge gathered by the Cult of Chaos was burned, and the battle would soon fade into obscurity. By the time that the Element of Sorcery disappeared into Limbo and the Crystal King would fall to his inner darkness, the city had been forgotten. Centuries passed and the ruins became buried by the shifting of land.
But they remain. Scorched and buried, they still remain. Those that wander to close would find themselves driven away by a horrible dread, or thoughts that echoed with other voices. All would steer clear of this accursed ground, all but one. A Unicorn, seething with rage and seeking vengeance, tramples on ground of which no living thing should tread. Now, the city is calling out. The Cult is awaiting their champion. The Tree of Harmony cannot send help this time, for its warriors have been replaced by pacifists. Now, the actions of an Alicorn and a Unicorn will be felt across the world. The Unicorn will ensure that the Alicorn who took everything from her will burn. Whatever the price. Whatever the Consequence.
Author's Note
The end of an era, of thousand years of peace, is here. Now begins an Era of Chaos, of Darkness and Despair.
So, I have begun another story. I put crossover because there will be hints of another universe. Before this truly begins, I would like to preface that this story does not have a happy ending. Good will not win- and even if it does, it will not be considered a victory by those that survive. Now, let us pray that Harmony will Prevail.
A small rock hung in the air, covered in a light blue glow. It rotated slowly, light bouncing off small crystals in the rock. As it spun, small cracks started to form in the solid stone. Then, in one swift motion, the rock was smashed into dust.
Starlight Glimmer scowled as her magic faded away, and the dust fell to the ground. There was a stillness in the air, as if the animals and insects could sense that a predator was prowling the area. It was an apt description of the irate unicorn. She took in a deep breath, her body shaking.
Then she screamed, magic exploding from her body. Everything that could go wrong had. She hadn’t been able to stop that stupid alicorn and her stupid powers of “friendship”; she hadn’t been able to find that damnable scroll; and now she couldn’t even find one bucking city. It wasn’t fair. She had tried so damned hard, building her village of equality. Then Princess Twilight bucking Sparkle had destroyed everything she had worked for. She couldn’t properly get revenge.
The magic she released slammed outwards, creating a crater around her. She hovered in the air for a second, before falling to the ground. Laying on the ground, she found herself curling into a ball. It wasn’t fair. She had done everything right. She had tried. But it always went wrong. It wasn’t fair.
As she lay there crying, she wasn’t able to see figures moving at the edge of the crater. She couldn’t hear the hoofsteps over her own thoughts. By the time she noticed that anything was wrong, it was too late.
Starlight Glimmer felt a sudden rush of air, and she tried to react to the unknown. But a cold metal ring sliding down her horn made her freeze in place. Starlight tried to cast a spell, any spell, but her magic couldn’t make it past the ring. Starlight stumbled backwards; she couldn’t believe what was happening. As she tried to regain her bearings, a sudden blow to the back of her head knocked her out.
Starlight…
With a groan, Starlight slowly opened her eyes. She was immediately assaulted by an ache in the back of her head. The bright light of the sun mixed with the pain, resulting in a horrific headache. She instinctively tried to cast a pain relief spell, but her magic refused to move past the bottom of her horn. The Ring.
Starlight gasped, adrenaline flooding her veins. She jumped to her hooves, and as a result her head slammed into something. Cursing, she rubbed her head with a hoof. It didn’t help with the headache. Not wanting to repeat the same mistake, she looked around to get her bearings.
A chill ran down her spine as realized what she was looking at. A poorly made wooden floor wobbled beneath her, and similarly made roof had been placed above her. Metal bars formed the walls, with a locked gate at the back of the cage. That was what this was- a cage. She opened her mouth to scream, but she found the sound muffled by a sudden hoof.
“Be quiet!” A voice hissed at her. It must have to belong to the owner of the hoof over mouth. “If you scream, you’ll draw the guards. Now, if I take my hoof away, will you scream?” Starlight shook her head, and she felt the hoof retract itself.
Starlight looked at the owner of the hoof and saw a pathetic looking mare. She had a red mane, but it was so raggedy that she couldn’t tell what the color of the highlight was. She had a horn, but not only did it have cracks and jagged chips in it, it had a ring of black metal around its base. Her coat was torn and bruised, but that was overshadowed by the true horror. Covering the poor mare’s cutie mark was a scar surrounded by burned hair, in the shape of an I and Y. A branding. The pony had been branded.
Starlight’s eyes widened to absurd proportions, and it took everything for her to not scream. The mare looked at her, allowing Starlight to see into her eyes. They were glassy and dull, without a single spark of joy or happiness in them.They were more fitting for the eyes of a corpse, not a living pony.
“Wha-what happened? Where am I?” Starlight asked the broken mare. She simply scoffed and curled into a lying position.
“Does it matter? You’re here, and that ring isn’t coming off any time soon. All that's left is for you to get this.” She emphasized the word, while shaking her flank slightly. “Don’t even think of escaping. You won’t succeed. They’ll make sure of it.” The pony said with a hint of pain evident in her voice.
“This is Slavery.” Starlight said, her words shaky and hoarse. The mare snorted.
“We’re not in Equestria anymore, idiot. The Princess’s reach only goes so far.” Starlight sat back, her mind reeling in shock. The mare looked at her with one eye, before closing it and turning her head to the side. It seemed that she was finished with the conversation.
Starlight simply sat there in shock, eyes wide and unmoving. Her body was still, stiffer than a statue. Slowly, so slowly, her eyelids crept downwards. Exhausted by the revelation, and the returning headache, Starlight soon found herself falling into a deep sleep.
Are you going to give up?
Starlight was awoken by shouting. Her eyes snapped open, the first thing she noticed was the flickering of a firelight. The night outside was dark, the moon covered by thick clouds. But in stark contrast to the dark sky was the twisting flames. It would have been a pretty and calming sight, if not for the shouting and screaming.
She couldn’t make the words out, but they sounded desperate. They sounded…scared. A bone-chilling scream rang out, causing Starlight to instinctively flinch back. She looked at the other mare in the cage, who was now burying her head between her hooves. The scream rang out again, somehow louder this time. There was only one emotion in-pain. It dragged on, before slowly transforming into sobs and weeping. The other unicorn shifted slightly, allowing Starlight to see the mark on her flank. The Brand.
A sudden noise from the back of the cage caused Starlight to jump. She looked at the locked gate, but she knew what she would find. Three figures sat behind the gate; features covered in shadows. Despite that, she could see that there was a Pegasus and two griffins. It was a griffin fiddling with the door, trying to unlock it.
The door slammed open, and Starlight cowered as far back as she possibly could. Exhausted, disoriented, and magicless, there was nothing she could do. The griffin grabbed one of her legs with his claw, pulling her out of the cage. She could feel the sharp talons cut into her leg, drawing blood. The griffin didn’t care.
Once she had dragged out the cage, the other griffin seized her with his own claws. Tears of pain welled up in her eyes, but Starlight didn’t make a sound. She wouldn’t give them the satisfaction. As they pulled her towards the fire, she tried to free herself. Truly, she did. It didn’t matter.
They threw her to the ground roughly, then one the griffins restrained her. He forced her to see everything, every horrible little thing that was about to happen. She could see the Pegasus approach slowly, a metal pole in his hoof. On one end was a red-hot symbol, a backwards I and Y. Starlight felt all her emotions flee from her, as focused on branding Iron. There was nothing she could do. They Iron descended.
Are you really going to give in so easily?
An emotion rushed through Starlight, an emotion that she was very familiar with. Fury. How dare they? HOW DARE THEY!
With a roar, Starlight slammed her head upwards. The griffin had relaxed his grip when Starlight had stopped struggling, and it proved to be his undoing. Although she didn’t have magic, she still had a horn. As it turns out, A horn is a lot stronger than a griffin's skull.
The Griffin died instantly, blood covering Starlight's head and mane. At the same time, she bucked her hooves. They slammed into the Iron, which pushed it backwards-into the Pegasus’s eyes. His scream gave Starlight a cruel sense of satisfaction, but she didn’t stick around to savor it. As the other Griffin flew over to the Pegasus, Starlight realized had been momentarily forgotten.
She moved. She galloped away from the cages, from the fire, from the Pegasus and griffin. From the Griffin she had brutality killed. As she galloped into the forest beyond, she heard the roar of a pained and furious Pegasus.
“GET HER!”
Don’t pity him, Starlight. He deserved it.
She didn't know how long she galloped for, only stopping when she physically couldn’t move anymore. Starlight leaned against a tree, gasping for air. Had she finally lost them?
Her question was answered quite quickly. A bolt slammed itself into the tree she was leaning on, mere inches away from her head. She sprung away from it, but she was too slow to avoid the second bolt. It buried itself into her flank, causing her to let out a pained scream.
She stumbled, her legs momentarily giving way. As she fell to the side, she narrowly avoided another bolt. While the bolt missing was good, her stumble was not. Even worse, she had been at the top of a hill.
Her stumble quickly turned into a roll, which snapped the bolt still embedded in her side. She rolled and rolled, only coming to a stop when she painfully hit a rock. As she lay there for a but a second, she could hear the sounds of the approaching slavers. Pulling herself upwards, she realized that she hadn’t rolled down a cliff.
No, Starlight had tumbled into a cave. It was damp and dark, obscuring every detail beyond a few feet. It would be a perfect place to hide. Starlight dragged herself into the cave, unaware that she was leaving a small trail of blood.
They’re going to find you, Starlight. You can’t hide.
The cave had initially been incredibly dark, but as she traversed further, she saw that she had been wrong. Glowing lichen and small bioluminescent plants covered the floor and walls, providing a low level of illumination.
Starlight quickly realized that this wasn’t an ordinary cave. The walls were too smooth, the floor and ceiling too rectangular. A thought raced through her exhausted mind, one that gave her the slightest feeling of hope. Perhaps this was the Buried City?
She had only heard the vaguest of legends about the city, but after her failure with obtaining Starswirl’s scroll, she had looked into other sources of revenge. The image of that infernal princess crossed Starlight’s mind, and she unconsciously let out a growl.
As the sound echoed softly in the cave, two things happened. First, Starlight could have sworn that she saw a flicker of light in the distance in front of her. Two, she heard squawks of a griffin. One that was far too close.
Starlight looked behind her and was met with a flying net. She barely, barely, avoided the net. The griffin surged forward, but Starlight was already moving. She rushed further into the cave, desperate to avoid the slavers.
She quickly found herself in a large, open room. It was shaped like a pyramid, but she could see that parts of the walls had collapsed, spilling dirt and stone into the room. At the center of the room was a raised dais, surrounded by broken and melted chains. Yet oddly enough, there was a hole in the ground, in front of the stone altar. A single chain descended into the pit, yet curiously, it seemed to be in perfect condition.
Starlight launched herself forward, past the pit and right before the stone altar. She turned around, leveling her horn towards the entrance of the room. She felt her fury and anguish morph into something else, something new. Resolve. Starlight would die free, rather than live as a slave.
You have to fight. There can only be one victor, Starlight.
Movement caught her eye, and she turned her head to it. The Griffin that had been chasing her inched out of the shadows, crossbow leveled at her. He didn’t fire, and the reason soon became obvious. The Pegasus she had blinded emerged from the shadows, and for the first time, Starlight got a good look at him.
He had yellowish fur, with wings of the same color. His cutie mark was that of interlocked chains, forming an X. His mane and tail were aqua-green, with gray highlights. The most “eye” catching feature was his blinded eye. Ironically, the brand that he had used to brand others was now burned into his eye socket, forming an I and Y.
“You…” The Pegasus growled. “Never once have I had a pony so defiant. Yet for some reason-I cannot comprehend why you continue. This escape, this defiance, they are all temporary. So, cease this foolishness, and surrender. I’m certain you will still fetch a fair price-despite this ‘Incident.’”
Why do you resist, Starlight?
Starlight’s decision was never in doubt. She would rather die than be a slave to some damnable Pegasus. As she stared at the Pegasus and the griffin, who had been inching ever closer, she felt her previous regrets well up in her mind. She wouldn’t be able to free the world of the tyranny that Cutie marks held over them. She wouldn’t be able to help the other ponies realize what equality truly was. Most Importantly, she wouldn't be able to get revenge against that damned Princess.
The Pegasus must have seen her resolve in her eyes, and simply gave a sigh. “Really? Oh, then you leave me no choice.” He shook his head dramatically. Then, in a tone that lacked any sadness or emotion, he gave the griffin an order. “Kill her.”
The griffin marched forward, closing the distance between the two. He threw his crossbow to the ground and drew a shining sword from his hip. Starlight caught a glimpse of his eyes, and a familiar emotion reflected in them. Rage. The griffin wanted revenge, revenge for the one she killed. The bird was going to do this personally.
There is only one path now, Starlight.
The only thing between them was the hole. It seemed to loom, stretching far larger than it should have. It was a chasm between them-and it was the only thing protecting her. The griffin began to circle the hole, when a sudden noise caught them off guard.
It was the sound of charging hooves, and a roar of defiance. Starlight could only watch as a light-yellow blur slammed into the griffin. The griffin was flung forward, straight into the open air above the pit. For a second, the bird tried to hang there, but then the unicorn slammed a hoof down. The blow must have broken one of the griffin’s wings, as he plummeted downwards.
Yes.
Starlight and the Pegasus sat there in shock as the new Unicorn gasped for breath. Starlight recognized the raggedy red hair, yellowish coat, and branded cutie-mark. It was her, the mare from the cage. She-Starlight's thought was suddenly interrupted by a flash of light.
It was coming from the chain. Starlight looked at the chain and was met with a blinding light. The light seemed to flow before her eyes, traveling up the chain like water. It passed right below her, and Starlight could have sworn she heard sounds coming from it. Almost like somepony screaming…
Take it.
The light flowed into the stone altar, which to her surprise, had begun to glow as well. The light from the chain merged with the light emanating from the stone, all but blinding Starlight.
Finally.
The light morphed into an elongated shape, one shed quickly identified as a dagger. A flash of pain echoed through her head as the light transformed into metal. Instead of light, a metal dagger hung in the air.
Take the blade, Starlight.
Memorized, Starlight slowly moved towards the weapon. She was oblivious to anything besides the hanging blade.
Take it.
She extended one hoof out but stopped mere inches away.
Take it, and revenge is assured!
Revenge. Twilight Sparkle. Her village.
Yes, Starlight. The Dagger is yours. Take it!
Starlight grabbed the dagger.
YES!
She turned around and saw the slaver. Blood roared in her ears.
Kill him! Take the blade, end him!
Starlight’s body moved on autopilot, and she approached the shaking stallion.
He deserves it!
Starlight raised the blade.
Kill him.
The Pegasus didn’t simply die. When the point of the dagger met his skin, he let out an awful, ear-piercing scream. White light seemed to stream from his mouth, which was then drunk up by the blade. As the last wisps of light left his mouth, Starlight Glimmer could see the pony die.
Revenge will be yours, Starlight.
I’ll hold you to that.
Author's Note
The city wasn't calling out. It was something else.
Gotta love hearing voices, and completing ancient rituals started a thousand years ago. Harmony going to need a lot of help if is to prevail.
